Steel Mill Negotiation Rates Remain Favorable to Buyers

The percentage of buyers reporting that mills are negotiable on new order pricing grew this week. According to our latest steel market survey this week, the majority of the steel executives polled reported that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order. A high willingness to negotiate has been evident in each of our checks since early May.

SMU surveys hundreds of steel buyers every other week with the question: Are you finding domestic mills are willing to negotiate spot pricing on new orders? On average this week, 86% of steel buyers reported that mills were willing to negotiate lower prices on new orders. This rate is up from 85% in early September and up from 77% in mid-August. Negotiation rates are down compared to the 88–89% levels seen in July and early August. Recall we saw negotiation rates as low as 16% in March.